Hayas v. Geico General Insurance Company

Filing 121

ORDER: Defendant GEICO General Insurance Company's Motion for Taxation of Costs and Proposed Bill of Costs [118, 119] are DENIED without prejudice. Signed by Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington on 1/4/2015. (AKH)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TAMPA DIVISION
KENNETH E. HAYAS,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 8:13-cv-1432-T-33AEP

GEICO GENERAL INSURANCE
COMPANY,
Defendant.
_________________________________/
ORDER
This cause comes before the Court pursuant to Defendant
GEICO General Insurance Company’s Motion for Taxation of
Costs and Proposed Bill of Costs (Doc. ## 118, 119), filed on
December 17, 2014. For the reasons that follow, this Court
denies GEICO’s Motion and Proposed Bill of Costs without
prejudice. GEICO may refile the Motion for Taxation of Costs
and Proposed Bill of Costs after resolution of the appeal, if
appropriate.
Discussion
On December 5, 2014, this Court granted GEICO’s Motion
for Summary Judgment. (Doc. # 116). The Clerk entered judgment
in favor of GEICO and against Hayas on December 5, 2014, and
thereafter closed this case. (Doc. # 117).

On December 17, 2014, GEICO filed the present Motion for
Taxation of and Proposed Bill of Costs. (Doc. ## 118, 119).
Thereafter on January 4, 2015, Hayas filed a Notice of Appeal
indicating his intent to appeal the Order granting summary
judgment to GEICO and the judgment entered in favor of GEICO
to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. (Doc. # 120).
As a general rule, the filing of a notice of appeal
divests a district court of jurisdiction with respect to any
matters involved in the appeal. Green Leaf Nursery v. E.I.
DuPont de Nemours & Co., 341 F.3d 1292, 1309 (11th Cir.
2003)(explaining “The filing of an appeal is an event of
jurisdictional significance – it confers jurisdiction on the
court of appeals and divests the district court of its control
over those aspects of the case involved in the appeal.”)
(internal citations omitted).
If this Court were to resolve GEICO’s Motion for Taxation
of Costs and Proposed Bill of Costs while an appeal remains
pending, it would engage in the piecemeal adjudication of
costs as the Court would be asked to repeat the procedure
following the appeal. See Bowers v. Universal City Dev.
Partners, Ltd., No. 6:03-cv-985-ORL-18JGG, 2005 WL 1243745,
at *2 (M.D. Fla. May 19, 2005). Furthermore, the Court finds
that the immediate resolution of the collateral issue of

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GEICOS’s Motion for Taxation of Costs and Proposed Bill of
Costs is unlikely to assist the Court of Appeals. Thus, the
Court

denies

GEICOS’s

Motion

for

Taxation

of

Costs

and

Proposed Bill of Costs without prejudice. GEICO may refile
the Motion for Taxation of Costs and Proposed Bill of Costs
after resolution of the appeal, if appropriate.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that:
Defendant GEICO General Insurance Company’s Motion for
Taxation of Costs and Proposed Bill of Costs (Doc. # 118,
119) are DENIED without prejudice.
DONE and ORDERED in Chambers, in Tampa, Florida, this
4th day of January, 2015.

Copies to: Counsel of Record

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